Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 2 July 2019
This report is for the media and the general public.
Summary
- Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region.
- A woman was injured in Donetsk city and two men were injured in Vesele and near Pervomaisk from shelling and gunfire.
- The SMM saw damage to houses due to shelling in Khreshchatytske and Zolote-4/Rodina.
- Small-arms fire was assessed as aimed at an SMM unmanned aerial vehicle in Zernove.
- The SMM continued to monitor activities related to disengagement at Stanytsia Luhanska.
- The SMM saw again the presence of anti-tank mines near the Petrivske disengagement area.
- The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to facilitate repairs and the operations of critical civilian infrastructure.
- Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in the disengagement areas and elsewhere. Its freedom of movement was also denied near non-government-controlled Staropetrivske.*
Ceasefire violations[1]
In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including fewer explosions (about 125), compared with the previous reporting period (about 330 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations were recorded at southerly directions of Pyshchevyk (government-controlled, 25km north-east of Mariupol) and at westerly directions of Horlivka (government-controlled, 39km north-east of Donetsk), including 54 explosions.
In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including four explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (no explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations were recorded in areas north-west of Zolote-5/Mykhailivka (non-government-controlled, 61km north-west of Luhansk) and south-west of Novotoshkivske (government-controlled, 53km west of Luhansk).
A woman injured in Donetsk city and two men injured in Vesele and near Pervomaisk
On 2 July, in the Trudivski area of Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district (non-government-controlled, 15km south-west of Donetsk city centre), the SMM saw a woman (60-70 years old) with bandage on her left wrist. She told the SMM that she had sustained a cut to her wrist by glass debris, when the windows of her house were shattered by explosions in the early morning hours of 28 June. (See SMM Daily Report 1 July 2019 for observed damage to houses in the area). On 1 July, at a local ambulance sub-station in Donetsk city, medical staff refused to provide the SMM with any information on the case.*
The SMM followed up on reports of injuries sustained by a man (53 years old) in Vesele (non-government-controlled, 9km north-west of Donetsk city centre). At a hospital in Donetsk city, the SMM saw a small scab on the man’s right upper arm. The man told the Mission that he was outside his parents’ house at Naberezhna Street in Vesele when he saw three explosions about 10-12m from his location and was injured in his right arm and left leg by two shrapnel pieces. Medical staff told SMM that the man sustained shrapnel injuries to his right arm and left leg and visited the hospital on 27 June to change his bandages, but refused to provide further information, citing instructions from those in control.*
The SMM followed up on reports of a man injured by small-arms fire while driving a scooter north of Pervomaisk (non-government-controlled, 58km west of Luhansk) on 24 June. On 25 June, medical staff at a hospital in Pervomaisk told the Mission that a man (18 years old) had been admitted late in the evening on 24 June with a bullet wound in his abdomen. On 2 July in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka (non-government-controlled, 58km west of Luhansk), the parents of the man showed the Mission the scooter with a bullet hole in its metal fairing.
Fresh damage to houses due to shelling in Khreshchatytske and Zolote-4/Rodina
On 1 July, the SMM followed up on reports of shelling in Khreshchatytske (formerly Krasnoarmiiske, non-government-controlled, 33km north-east of Mariupol). In a residential area, at 5 Oktiabrska Street, the SMM saw two shattered west-facing windows of an inhabited house and, 3m west of it, a barn with a collapsed roof and two shattered west-facing windows. An SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flying over the area on the same day spotted two fresh craters, at distances of 20m and 75m north of the house, as well as four fresh craters in a field about 170m north-east of the house and 50m south of a military-type vehicle storage facility. The SMM assessed all craters and damage as caused by 120mm mortar rounds fired from a westerly direction.
Approximately 100m north-west of the abovementioned house, at a one-storey inhabited house at 2 Kosmodemianskoi Street, the SMM saw burn marks on the west-facing and north-facing walls, a shattered west-facing window and two shattered north-facing windows. About 10m north from the house, the SMM saw a completely burned wooden outbuilding with debris on the ground nearby. About 45m north-north-east, at 6 Kosmodemianskoi Street, the SMM observed a completely destroyed summer kitchen, with bricks and wooden panels on the ground. About 1m south of it, the SMM saw a shattered south-facing window and a collapsed corrugated asbestos roof of a wooden shed. The SMM also saw a mortar fuse in the middle of the debris of the wooden shed. The SMM assessed the impact and damage at both addresses as caused by 120mm mortar rounds fired from a westerly direction.
Approximately 20m east of a gas station in Khreshchatytske the SMM saw a crater (1.5m in diameter) in the middle of the road, assessed as caused by a 120mm mortar round fired from a westerly direction. Approximately 500m north-east of the gas station, at 10 Lenina Street, the SMM saw a broken west-facing window of a one-storey inhabited house. Inside the house, the SMM saw a hole (about 1.2m in diameter) in the wooden floor and a tailfin and unexploded 120mm mortar round, fired from the westerly direction.
On 2 July, the SMM followed up on reports of shelling in Zolote-4/Rodina (government-controlled, 61km west of Luhansk). In a residential area at 1 Persha Vilna Street, the SMM observed a hole on the roof of a one-storey inhabited house, above the south-facing wall, partially broken roof and a shattered glass on a two-pane west-facing window. The SMM could not assess the type of weapon used or the direction of fire. The deputy head of the village administration told the SMM that shelling had occurred in the early morning on 27 June.
Small-arms fire assessed as aimed at SMM mini-UAV
While conducting a mini-UAV flight in Zernove (non-government-controlled, 70km south of Donetsk), the SMM heard 25 bursts and shots of small arms fire at an assessed distance of about 700m north-north-west of the patrol, assessed as aimed at the mini-UAV, which was also flying 700m north-north-west. The SMM landed the UAV safely and immediately left the area.*
On 1 July, in Khreshchatytske, while flying in the vicinity of houses damaged by shelling (see above), an SMM mini-UAV spotted a member of the armed formations with his rifle assessed as aiming at the UAV. (See SMM Daily Report 2 July 2019).
Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area
The SMM continued to monitor activities related to disengagement at Stanytsia Luhanska. On 2 July, inside the disengagement area, the SMM saw 20 members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces accompanied by the commander of the Joint Forces Operation and two Ukrainian Armed Forces officers of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC), walk to the former forward position of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and back towards the northern edge of the disengagement area.[2]
On the same day, inside the disengagement area, the SMM observed a light blue, dark blue and red flag at the former forward position of the armed formations and another at the checkpoint of the armed formations. At and near both abovementioned locations, the SMM also saw seven men in military-style clothing, who were wearing blue armbands with “JCCC” written on them.
Other disengagement areas[3]
During the day on 2 July, positioned close to the disengagement area near Petrivske (non-government-controlled, 41km south of Donetsk), the SMM observed a calm situation.[4]
Withdrawal of weapons
The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons in implementation of the Memorandum and the Package of Measures and its Addendum.
In violation of withdrawal lines
Government-controlled areas
1 July
An SMM mini-UAV spotted a mortar (2B11 Sani, 120mm) near Novohnativka (40km south of Donetsk).
Beyond withdrawal lines but outside of designated storage sites
Government-controlled areas
2 July
The SMM saw nine self-propelled howitzers (type undetermined) in Pokrovsk (55km north-west of Donetsk).
Indications of military and military-type presence in the security zone[5]
Government-controlled areas
1 July
The SMM saw an armoured personnel carrier (APC) (BTR-70) just north of the northern edge of the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area.
2 July
The SMM saw:
- an APC (MT-LB) near Valentynivka (35km north of Donetsk) and
- two trenches being dug on the western edge of Kriakivka (38km north-west of Luhansk).
Non-government-controlled areas
1 July
An SMM mini-UAV spotted an APC (MT-LB) in Khreshchatytske (see above).
Presence of anti-tank mines near Petrivske disengagement area, and mine-hazard signs
On 1 July, about 170m north of the disengagement area near Petrivske, an SMM mini-UAV spotted again 39 anti-tank mines (TM-62) on the road between Bohdanivka (government-controlled, 41km south-west of Donetsk) and Viktorivka (non-government-controlled, 42km south-west of Donetsk), assessed as belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
On 2 July, 1km north-east of Volnovakha (government-controlled, 53km south of Donetsk), the SMM saw tall wooden panels with green plastic sheets in front of sandbags, bearing red signs with “Careful, demining” written in Ukrainian.
On the same day, the SMM saw for the first time a red mine hazard sign on a wooden stick with “Stop mines” in Ukrainian and Russian outside a house in a residential area in Semyhiria (government-controlled, 58km north-east of Donetsk) and a wooden mine hazard sign with “Danger. Mines” in Russian in a field on the southern outskirts of Bohdanivka (non-government-controlled, 44km west of Luhansk)
SMM facilitation of repairs and the operations of civilian infrastructure
The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to a water pipeline between Zolote-3/Stakhanovets (government-controlled, 61km west of Luhansk) and Popasna (government-controlled, 69km west of Luhansk). The SMM also facilitated the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station (15km north of Donetsk).
People apply for “LPR passports” in Alchevsk
In Alchevsk (non-government-controlled, 40km west of Luhansk), the SMM saw about 45 people (mixed genders, 18-70 years old) queuing outside of a building. Two women (both about 50 years old) in the queue told the SMM that they had been queuing to apply for “LPR passports” and planned to apply for the Russian Federation passports.
SMM monitors security situation south-east of Kherson region
On 30 June and 1 July, the Mission observed calm situations at the crossing points between Chonhar (163km south-east of Kherson), Kalanchak (67km south-east of Kherson), Chaplynka (77km south-east of Kherson) and Crimea.
The SMM continued monitoring in Odessa, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Chernivtsi and Kyiv.
*Restrictions of the SMM’s freedom of movement or other impediments to fulfilment of its mandate
The SMM’s monitoring and freedom of movement are restricted by security hazards and threats, including risks posed by mines, unexploded ordnance (UXO) and other impediments – which vary from day to day. The SMM’s mandate provides for safe and secure access throughout Ukraine. All signatories of the Package of Measures have agreed on the need for this safe and secure access, that restriction of the SMM’s freedom of movement constitutes a violation, and on the need for rapid response to these violations. They have also agreed that the JCCC should contribute to such response and co-ordinate mine clearance. Nonetheless, the armed formations in parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions frequently deny the SMM access to areas adjacent to Ukraine’s border outside control of the Government (for example, SMM Daily Report 12 June 2019). The SMM’s operations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions remain restricted following the fatal incident of 23 April 2017 near Pryshyb; these restrictions continued to limit the Mission’s observations.
Denial of access:
- While driving about 1.5km north of Staropetrivske (non-government-controlled, 35km north-east of Donetsk), an armed member of the armed formations stopped the SMM and denied it passage to Korsun (non-government-controlled, 31km north-east of Donetsk), citing “an ongoing training in the area”.
Regular restrictions related to disengagement areas and mines/UXO:
- The sides continued to deny the SMM full access to the three disengagement areas, as well as the ability to travel certain roads previously identified as important for effective monitoring by the Mission and for civilians’ movement, through failure to conduct comprehensive clearance of mines and UXO.
Other impediments:
- Medical staff at a hospital in Donetsk city refused to provide the SMM information about a civilian casualty (see above) without permission from senior members of the armed formations.
- Medical staff at an ambulance sub-station in Donetsk city refused to provide information on a civilian casualty (see above).
- An SMM mini-UAV experienced GPS signal interference, assessed as probably caused by jamming, while flying over Lebedynske (government-controlled, 16km north-east of Mariupol), Pyshchevyk (government-controlled, 25km north-east of Mariupol), Zernove (non-government-controlled, 70km south of Donetsk) and Pervomaiske (non-government-controlled, 68km south of Donetsk).[6]
[1] For a complete breakdown of ceasefire violations, please see the annexed table. The SMM cameras in Svitlodarsk and at Oktiabr mine were non-operational during the reporting period.
[2] The Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) was established in September 2014 by Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Each posted a representative to jointly head the Centre and a staff of officers from the Ukrainian and Russian Federation Armed Forces to be co-located in defined sectors of Luhansk and Donetsk regions. In December 2017, Russian Federation Armed Forces officers withdrew from the JCCC and departed Ukraine.
[3]Disengagement is foreseen in the Framework Decision of the Trilateral Contact Group relating to disengagement of forces and hardware of 21 September 2016.
[4] Due to the presence of mines, including a road between Bohdanivka and Petrivske, the SMM’s access to its camera in Petrivske remains limited, and thus the SMM has not been able to access observations from the camera since 22 June 2018.
[5] The hardware mentioned in this section is not proscribed by the provisions of the Minsk agreements on the withdrawal of weapons.
[6] The interference could have originated from anywhere within a radius of kilometres from the UAVs’ positions.